


See Me

by Goodnightwife



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-23
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2019-07-01 15:08:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 18,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15776571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goodnightwife/pseuds/Goodnightwife
Summary: Y/N's life is turned upside down and dark when she looses her eyesight and meets a new ship full of people who could become her family. But what good is a blind engineer? Why is she being pursued by Klingons? But most importantly, how can she possibly choose between a Captain and a Doctor?





	1. Chapter 1

“Damn it to hell.” 

That was the first thing you heard when you woke up in someone’s Medbay, at least that’s where you thought you were, it smelled like a Medbay. You tried to open your eyes but they refused to obey. You tried to move but a strong hand pressed on your shoulder, keeping you down on the hard surface.

“Don’t try to move yet, I’m almost done,” a man’s voice growls the words as if you were a distraction to whatever he’s working on. The pain shooting through your leg causes you to gasp. “I know, hold on, I’m almost done. Just stay still,” he says again. Trying not to move, you begin some deep breathing, trying to ignore the pain in your leg and the fact that your eyes still won’t open. A few minutes or a year pass, you’re not sure, and finally he’s done. 

“Okay,” he begins, a voice in the dark. “Let’s start out easy. My name is Dr. Leonard McCoy and you’re on board the Federation starship Enterprise. Your transport ship was attacked and we found you in an escape pod. Your leg had a deep cut that was on the verge of infection. You also have a head injury that has affected your vision. What else can I tell you that will help?”

“What happened to everyone else on the ship?” You whisper, fearing the answer before you even hear it. 

“You’re the only survivor, I’m afraid,” he replied softly, laying a hand on your arm in comfort. A sob wracks through your body at the thought of all the deaths. You were traveling alone but you had been on the ship long enough to make some friends with some of the other travelers. All gone now. You feel tears rolling down your temples and into your hair before a warm hand gently wipes them away. 

“What’s your name?” he asked, still resting a warm hand on your arm.

“Y/L/N, Lieutenant Y/N Y/L/N, most recently of the Farragut. I’m waiting on my transfer orders and so I decided to take a little time off," you mutter as your sobs begin to subside.

“Did you have family on board that ship?”

“No, I was traveling alone. This is officially the worst vacation ever,” another sob making your chest tremble. “The head injury is the reason my eyes won’t open?”

“They are open, Lieutenant.” he replied softly.

“Oh.”

“Can you see anything? Light or shapes?” He asked as the sound of a tricorder right next to your head made you jump a little.

“No, nothing.” you answered, bringing your hand to where you think you should have been able to see it. He didn’t immediately reply but you heard him tapping away on the tricorder. 

“Okay, based on these readings, you’ve got a bit of swelling right behind your eyes that’s compressing some of nerves back there. I think this blindness is temporary and will improve as the swelling goes down. I don’t want to give you anything yet, I would rather let the body take care of itself than start messing with your eyes. I will want you to remain here, I’ll have the nurses put you in a private room and help you get acclimated to it.”

“Thank you, Doctor McCoy.” 

“No problem, darlin’. I’ll be right back.”

You nodded and listened to his footsteps fade away. Taking a deep breath to steady yourself, you felt around the bed and pushed yourself to a sitting position. You slowly reach across your body and pat down your arms, your hips, and your legs, being careful when you feel the bandages around your injured leg. Everything seems intact but sore. Doctor McCoy’s steps sounded again as he walked back.

“Hey, I didn’t say that you could sit up.” He chided. “I have brought Nurse Chapel with me, she will help you get set up in the private room and once you’re settled, we can talk more. And the captain will want to speak with you as well.”

“Alright, thank you Doctor.”

“No problem, kid,” his steps started to move away and a soft, obviously female hand, laid on your arm.

“I’m Christine, I’m the head nurse, let me help you get moved and settled in before the captain arrives.”

“Thank you, Christine. And pardon my ignorance, but what’s your captain’s name?” 

Christine’s soft laugh was a welcome sound as she fussed around the bed, her smile evident in her voice as she replied softly, “Kirk, Captain James T. Kirk.”


	2. Chapter 2

Christine was such a pro it was little wonder that she was head nurse and Dr. McCoy’s right hand. She had you moved and settled in the private room in no time, positioning you sitting up in the bed with your injured leg propped up on a pillow. She put a call button in your hand if you needed her. She made sure you could reach the small table with some water on it, promising to bring food in a little while. 

“I have a very vain question,” you began, hoping Christine won’t laugh.

“What’s that?” She replied from the corner of the room on your left. 

“What am I wearing? Is it clean? How’s my hair?”

“Well,” she started, not laughing at all. “Those are all perfectly valid questions. You are wearing what we found you in, I’m going to bring you a pair of scrubs that are clean. Your hair has probably seen better days, but once you’re cleaned up, I’ll help you with it. Does that sound okay?”

“That sounds wonderful, thank you so much.”

“You bet! I’ll be right back with the scrubs and bathing kit,” her footsteps faded as she walked away. They say that when one sense is taken away from you, the other senses heighten. You wonder if your hearing will improve because you don’t hear her come back until she speaks, making you jump a little. She gently helped you change clothes and get cleaned up. She had just finished brushing your hair, leaving it falling soft around your shoulders, when a knock sounded at the door. Making sure you were all squared away and decent, Christine opened the door and announced the captain. Footsteps and a warm hand on yours let you know he sat himself down on Christine’s stool on your right.

“Welcome aboard the Enterprise, Lieutenant Y/L/N,” his voice was soft and smooth. If handsome had a sound, his voice would be it. “I had a chance to look over your service record, it’s quite impressive. Top of your class at the academy, graduated with honors and an impressive first posting to the Farragut. Scotty would give his eyeteeth to have an engineer like you.”

“Thank you, Captain. And thank you for rescuing me as well.”

“Our pleasure. I’ve notified Command that we have you here and they will notify your family.”

“Oh, there’s no one for them to notify, but thank you for the thought.”

A pause. They say you can feel it when someone looks at you but apparently that sense wasn’t heightened because you had no idea what he was doing. 

“Well,” he said finally, “Rest well. We have a mission to complete before we can head back to the nearest starbase, so I’m afraid you’re stuck with us for a few weeks. But, according to Bones, you’ll need the recovery time anyway.”

“I’m sorry, Sir, but… Bones?” You asked.

“Oh,” his laugh was musical, “Doctor McCoy. I’ve known him since our Academy days. Ask him about it sometime, I’m sure he’d love to tell you all about it.”

“I’m sure he wouldn’t,” a gruff voice comes from the direction of the doorway, making you jump. “What are you telling my patient, Jim?”

“Only the important things, Bones. I’ll let you rest now, I’m sure the good Doctor will take very good care of you. Feel free to let me know if there’s anything I can do for you while you’re here. When you are feeling better, I will need to ask you some questions about what happened to your transport ship.”

“Yes sir, thank you, Captain Kirk,” you nodded, hoping that you looked at least a little professional. A scuffing sound indicated a changing of the guard and Dr. McCoy’s hand rested on your arm. You smiled a little, realizing that you recognized his hand already.

“Be careful there, Lieutenant,” he joked, “smiling might indicate a traumatic brain injury. I would hate to have to open up that pretty head of yours.”

“I’ll try to contain myself then, Dr. McCoy,” you grinned as you heard Christine announce herself with something that smelled like Chicken Soup.

“Time for food it seems,” Dr. McCoy’s voice smiled. “Eat slowly and if you experience any nausea, let me know, okay?”

“Yes sir, thank you, Dr. McCoy.” You answered, hoping to hold everything down without issue. 

“No thanks needed and call me Leonard please.”

“Okay, Leonard,” you replied, “Call me Y/N then.”


	3. Chapter 3

Spending time in Leonard’s Medbay wasn’t as bad as one might imagine. There was always something going on or someone to talk to. Leonard checked in more than a couple times a day, running the regenerator over your leg and talking with you. After three days, you knew your way around your room very well and even the way to Leonard’s office (Christine had made you a path along the wall). Your eyesight hadn’t improved yet even though Leonard said the swelling was beginning to go down. Captain Kirk also made appearances at least once a day. He asked about the transport ship you had been on and the attack. Unfortunately, you did’t know who attacked the ship, you were in your quarters when it started and after the first explosion rocked the ship, you made your way to engineering to try and help but got shoved into an escape pod and ejected before you could make it there.

Feeling bad for not being any help at all, you tried to help yourself by moving around more than Leonard wanted you to, but you decided that you could manage your own physical therapy. On one of your walks around the walls of the Medbay, letting one hand drag along the wall and the other out in front of you so that you wouldn’t trip over anything, you hear Leonard’s (now normal) cursing in his office.

“Damn blasted no good piece of malfunctioning machinery!” he grumbled under his breath. 

“Something wrong, Leonard?” You asked with a grin as you stand in his doorway.

“My replicator is malfunctioning. All I want is a cup of coffee and it keeps giving me green tea. I hate green tea.”

“Oh,” you laughed, “Is that all? That’s easy! Stand me in front of the machine and I’ll fix it for you.”

“That’s okay, Y/N, Scotty is on his way to meet me for lunch anyway, he’ll take a look when he gets here.”

“Nonsense, I can fix it with my eyes closed.”

“Very funny.”

“Just stand me in front it please,” you huffed. If you didn’t do something constructive soon, you were going to go crazy.

“Alright, alright,” his large hands that you now have memorized touch your arm and lead you into his office. He pulls your hand up and lays it onto the console of the replicator. “Here, your hand is at the top left corner of the blasted thing.”

“Great. Now, just a couple of questions. When was the last time this replicator was serviced?”

“About 6 months ago I think, we were at Starbase 13 for some repairs.” Leonard responded, watching your face as you take in the information, both of your hands running down the sides of the panels. Just then, Scotty stepped into the doorway and Leonard raised a hand to tell him to stay there and be quiet. He watched you work with interest. 

“And did they pop off the top or the bottom panel when they worked on it?” you asked, not hearing Scotty’s footsteps because of your focus on the machine.

“Both, the top and then the bottom. I remember because they spilled something when they were testing it and the bottom was still open.”

“Oh well, that means…” your voice dropped off as you picture the machine in your head, bending over and opening the bottom panel and reaching for the wiring bundle that is on the right hand side. Reaching behind it, you let your fingers run down the inside of the panel until they find the right connection and you give it a turn and it’s tightened again. Replacing the panel, you stand up straight. “There, try it now.”

Leonard reordered his coffee and it materialized perfectly. 

“Hey, that was pretty good!” Scotty’s voice boomed from the doorway causing you to jump right into Leonard’s arms with a yelp. 

“Good going, Scotty!” Leonard chastised him, steadying you with his hands on your arms, your back against his chest. “Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott, this is Lieutenant Y/N Y/L/N.”

“Nice ta meetcha!” Scotty grabbed your hand and pumped it up and down in a vigorous handshake. 

“Nice to meet you too, Mr. Scott,” you laugh and try to pull your hand away, bumping into Leonard who was still standing with you against his chest, giving you some extra support. 

“What ship are ya currently assigned ta, lass?” he asked. You would have been suspicious of the question if you could have seen his face.

“I’m currently unassigned,” you answer, missing the twinkle in Scotty’s eyes and the warming of Leonard’s cheeks.


	4. Chapter 4

It took another day for your vision to begin to return and even then, you could only see light and dark and the general shapes of things. It was good progress, Leonard had told you, but it didn’t feel like things were moving fast enough. You were going stir crazy in the Medbay. Scotty came by to visit a few times and last time he brought you a mystery machine, telling you that if you could figure out what it was and fix it without the benefit of your full restored vision, then you would be named the greatest engineer he had ever seen. Never one to leave a challenge unanswered, you started tinkering on it right away and were still at it hours later when Captain Kirk made his daily visit, bringing lunch with him this time.

“How’s everyone’s favorite patient?” he asked as he strolled into the room. You paused running your fingers over the small machine to looked up at where his voice came from. “Leonard tells me that your eyesight is beginning to improve,” he laid the tray of food on the table to sat in the other unoccupied chair.

“I can see light and dark and shapes. You’re a fuzzy yellow... mass right now, but I’m sure one of these days you’ll materialize into a human being,” you teased. Over the past days, you had developed an easy rapport with him. Listening to him talk about the ship and the mission, listening to his laugh and the smooth lilt of his voice had been calming while you were stuck in the Medbay. 

“Yes, well, I can always hope!” Jim laughed. “I brought you some lunch, nothing fancy I’m afraid, just a sandwich and chips.” He moved the tray to rest in front of you and gently took your hands and placed them where you can feel the food. He had easily developed habits of helpfulness where your vision was concerned. You smiled gratefully and picked up the sandwich. 

“Thank you, Captain.” You say around a bite of food, holding your hand up to cover your mouth just in case something dribbles down your chin. If he is half as good looking as he sounds, you don’t want to look like too much of a clutz in front of him.

“I thought I had asked you to call me Jim, Y/N.” He gently reprimanded, but you could hear the grin in his voice. 

“Sorry, Jim, I guess I forgot.”

“What is this thing here that you’ve been working on?” You hear him pick up the small machine and tinker with its knobs a little bit. 

“I’m not sure. Scotty brought it to me to figure out, I think mostly to keep me occupied but I’ve enjoyed playing with it. What does it look like to you?”

“Oh no, I’m not falling for that. If Scotty gave it to you to work on I’m not going to interfere,” he laughed. “I was thinking though,” he begins as he puts the puzzling machine back down right where he found it so that you could find it again. “I was wondering if you would like to get out of here for a while.”

“What did you have in mind? I can’t exactly admire the view,” you laughed and took a sip from the water bottle he handed you, just knowing you wanted it. 

“I have something else planned that you might enjoy. It doesn’t require perfect vision and might even appeal to the engineer in you.”

“Well, twist my arm why don’tcha!” You laughingly reply. “Sure, could be fun.”

“Great! It’s a date then. I’ll pick you up this evening around 6, okay?”

“Sure Jim, I’ll be here!”

“Great! I’ve got to get back to the bridge but I will see you later, Y/N.” You could hear his grin loud and clear and you were sure your face was going to split open with yours. His footsteps retreat only to be replaced by Leonard’s. You know the sound of his steps. 

“How’s it going in here, Y/N?” He asked in his typical slightly gruff voice. 

“I’m fine. Just ate lunch with Jim. He’s going to take me someplace tonight.”

“Oh really? Any ideas where?” He asked after a slight pause, his voice was still conversational but somehow tighter now. 

“Not sure. I guess it’ll be a surprise.” You laugh, trying to lighten whatever had darkened his mood. “Is Christine on shift this evening? I could use some help.”

“She is, I’ll let her know to stop by and give you a hand with whatever you need.” His voice was still slightly hard, but his touch was soft as he gently tilted your face up as he ran the tricorder over your head. “The swelling is going down slowly, but it is going down. Unless you are experiencing any pain, I think I want to let it continue going down naturally.”

“Nope, no pain here. And you’re a nice blue blob, so that’s progress I guess.” You giggle at his harrumph. 

“Well, I’ll be in my office if you need anything,” he said gruffly, his steps moving away from you. Listening to him walk away left you feeling just a little sad. He typically would sit and talk to you for a while but not today for some reason. Reaching for Scotty’s mystery machine again, you turn your thoughts to your date tonight and what Jim could possibly have planned!


	5. Chapter 5

Jim arrived at 6pm on the dot. Christine had helped you get ready, letting you borrow a dress of hers and helping you fix your hair. She chatted with you like a friend even though you were practically a stranger. It made you miss being assigned to ship and having a family there. You had gotten very close to some of the people on the Farragut and it was hard to leave them. You didn’t realize how much you had missed them until you were forced to sit in a room by yourself, unable to even see. Shaking yourself out of your little pity party, you heard Jim approach. You smiled when you realized that you now recognized his footsteps as well. 

“Knock knock, anyone home?” He asked from the door. You smile and stand from the chair as he walks across the small room. His warm hands takes yours and his thumbs rub lightly over your knuckles. “Ready to go?” 

“Sure am!” You replied with a grin. It’s hard not to smile with Jim Kirk around. He placed your hand in the crook of his arm and led you out of the Medbay. You couldn't see the small smile on Christine’s face as you walked past her. 

“Where are we going, Jim?” You asked. You could see the silvery white of the walls but that was all. You knew people were walking past you because you could hear them, but your eyes refused to even see the colors of their uniforms. 

“It’s a surprise. Do you trust me?” He asked as you paused for the turbolift to open. Once inside, the lift began moving down. He put an arm around your waist and pulled you a little closer to his body. 

“I trust you.” You replied, feeling the blush creep up your cheeks. The lift doors opened and Jim walked you down another corridor until you reached your destination. 

“Okay,” Jim began with a touch of nervousness in his voice. “Ready?”

“I’m ready!” you answered with a laugh. He pulled you forward into a large room. Whatever was in it just all blended together so you couldn’t make out any shapes or specific colors, so you stopped trying and closed your eyes to enhance your hearing. A low hum filtered through the air, louder than the normal sound of the ship. Jim led you into the room holding your hands in his, walking backwards as he pulled you forward. He stopped about 20 steps into the room and let your hands fall to your sides, but never took his hands from your arms as he walked behind you and stood with his chest against your back, his hands rubbing up and down your arms. 

“Do you know where we are yet?” He asked quietly in your ear, his breath on your skin sending a small shiver down your spine. 

“Let me listen more.” You whisper back. The hum had a particular tonal quality that brings engines to mind. But not just any engines, large ones that fuel the ship’s warp nacelles. “We are about 3 decks below main engineering in the secondary engine room where the plasma created by the core is pumped up into the nacelles. Above our heads are the plasma transfer conduits, shielded of course, so we don’t die from the radiation.”

“Wow! That’s incredible!” Jim laughed, letting his arms wrap around your waist in a hug from behind. 

“You might want to tell Scotty that the harmonics on the secondary plasma coil sound just a little out of alignment.”

“I’ll let him know,” Jim replied, his forehead resting on your shoulder as he laughed. “You never cease to amaze me, Y/N.”

“Well,” you slowly turn in his arms, “I aim to please.” He didn’t immediately reply, but you could feel his breath on your face. You were just about to ask if he was okay when he spoke.

“I really want to kiss you right now, Y/N, but I feel like I should wait until your vision returns and we’re more... clear headed.” He said softly, his hands rubbing down your back.

“I’m pretty clear headed right now.” You replied softly, both thankful and disappointed.

“Yeah, well, maybe I’m not.” You could hear his smile return to his face.

“Alright then, no kissing until I can see and you can think.” 

Jim’s laugh bounced off the walls. “We might be waiting forever if we’re waiting for me to think.” He replied. “Bones would have you believe that it will never happen.”

“Oh well!” You shrug with a smirk. “Your loss then!”

“Indeed it is.” He replied, his voice dripping with his wicked grin.


	6. Chapter 6

Your date with Jim had been wonderful. He had set up a picnic and even had played music on his PADD so that you could dance with him. You talked and laughed and danced until late. He brought you back to your room in the Medbay and said goodnight by lightly brushing a kiss against your knuckles. He had been the perfect gentleman. You should have been on cloud nine but your pity party had come back and you were missing your friends from the Farragut.

“Mornin’, Y/N. How are you feeling today?” He asked as he ran the tricorder over your head. 

“I feel alright, Leonard. How are you?” You asked him in return, remembering his abruptness yesterday. 

“Just fine thanks,” he replied tightly. “How’s your vision right now?”

“About the same as yesterday,” you replied. “I can see light and some colors.”

“When you were out last night, did you notice anything about your vision that worried you?” He asked, his voice sounding just a little off.

“Well,” you pause to think. “When I was walking through the corridor with Jim, I noticed that I couldn’t see the colors of the shirts walking past me. It was as if they were moving too quickly and my eyes wouldn’t focus on them.”

“Could you see anything once you got to wherever you were going?”

“Not really,” you laughed, seeing Leonard’s game of subtly asking about your date. “He took me to one of the engine rooms where I could hear the engine and use my senses other than sight. I couldn’t make out any of the bulkheads or the conduits, it was just all a grayish mass.”

“Ok well, the swelling is pretty much the same today. Are you in any pain at all? I mean anything? Even a slight headache?”

“Maybe a little headache but I’m sure some water will clear that right up.”

“Hmmm.” Leonard paused a moment, “Alright, try water first and if it’s not gone in an hour, and I mean completely gone, let me know and I’ll give you something for it.”

“Alright, Leonard.” You nodded, not wanting to take medicine, but if the headache got worse, it would be a bother. 

“Okay, call me if you need anything.” He took a step to leave but you reached a hand up and took a swipe at the air and luckily grabbed his arm. He turned back in surprise.

“Leonard, do you have a few minutes to just sit and talk to me?” You asked hopefully.

“Oh, of course.” He responded, sitting himself down in the extra chair, putting a hand over yours that was still on his arm. “Are you okay?” His voice was laced with concern.

“Yes, I just wanted some company.”

“I guess I just thought maybe you would prefer someone else’s company.”

“What does that mean?” You pull your hand from his arm and wrap both arms around your middle.

“It means that I’ve seen how you are with Jim, you like him.”

“Yes, I guess I like him okay.” You felt the need to lighten the mood, so you say the next thing that pops into your head. “But remember, I haven’t laid eyes on him yet, he could be uglier than an Andorian mudrat!” 

Leonard’s belly laugh filled the room, making you smile so big you thought your face would split open. He deserved to laugh like that often but this is the first time you heard it. “Well, let me tell you something, darlin’. Jim Kirk is a handsome devil and I’m man enough to say so! As for the rest of him, I’ll let you judge when you can actually see him. The ladies are generally fond of him though.”

“Yes, well, even without my eyes I can tell that he’s a smooth talker.” You laugh, feeling a little strange talking about your date with Leonard, but you were desperate for a friend. 

“How are you coming with Scotty’s mystery machine?” He asked, changing the subject to something a little easier, for him and for you.

“I think I’ve almost figured out what it is, but I’m pretty sure it’s broken. Once I’ve confirmed with Scotty what I think it is, I can ask for the right tools to fix it.” You reach left and pick up the small machine and roll it between your hands. 

“Why don’t you walk me through what you’re thinking about it?” Leonard suggested conversationally. 

“Okay!” You grin in his direction before turning your attention back to the machine in your hands. “It’s small, only about twice the size of an old earth toy called a Rubix cube.”

“Yes, I know the toy, I’m terrible at it.”

“There are a couple knobs on this side that I’m pretty sure are supposed to turn but right now all they do is push in and pull out.” You continue to turn the machine and point out different areas of interest and things that you think are broken. He takes it all in, offering suggestions here and there, moving your fingers to each place he talks about. 

You get so wrapped up in the conversation and Leonard sits with his back to the door, that neither of you notice the ship’s captain standing in the doorway, watching the exchange.


	7. Chapter 7

The pain in your head woke you up from a heavy sleep. You had a slight headache last night but nothing bad enough to bother Leonard about, but now your head was pounding enough to wake you. 

“Computer, lights to 50%.” You whispered the command because speaking hurt so much. The computer beeped acknowledgement but you didn’t see anything. “Computer, lights on full.” You put your hands on your temples, trying to keep it from exploding. Another beep but you still saw nothing. No light, no shapes. The pain was becoming unbearable, tears streamed from your eyes and down your cheeks, wetting the collar of your scrubs as you rolled up into a ball on your bed.

“Help. Someone please help.” You whispered, hoping the computer knew what to do with that command. Apparently it did because the night nurse came in quickly and after taking a quick and very painful assessment (when did a tricorder get so loud?), told you to lay still and she would get a doctor. Having no concept of time through the pain, it could have been days or minutes before you heard blessedly familiar footsteps and Leonard’s calm voice. 

“Y/N,” his cool hands touched your arms and hands and gently replaced your hands with his on your head. “Tell me what hurts.” The bed dipped a little bit with his weight as he sat next to you on the bed. 

“My head is going to explode, Leonard,” you whisper. “I can’t see the light anymore and talking hurts.”

“Okay, hold on, I’m going to give you something for the pain.” You felt him shift slightly and a hypo pressed against your neck. Compared to the pain in your head, you didn’t even feel the hypo deliver its payload but you did feel Leonard’s strong hand massage the injection site. His hands left you for a just a moment and then the tricorder began it’s whirring above your head. The pain began to lessen enough for you to breath again. Taking some deep breaths, you tried to stop the tears that still streamed down your face. 

“That’s it, darlin’” Leonard’s voice encouraged. “Take some deep breaths, the medicine should help quickly.” His fingers gently massaged your temples while his thumbs wiped some of the tears away. “Y/N, I’m going to look over these readings and I’ll be back okay?”

“Okay, please come back.” You replied weakly, realizing how comforting his touch was and how much you needed it. 

“I will, sweetheart, I promise.” He gave your hair one final stroke before calling the nurse back over and she took his place, holding your hand and gently wiping your tears away. She wasn’t Leonard, but she was better than being alone. 

“What time is it please?” You asked softly, the pain still making speaking a problem.

“It’s 03:30.” She replied gently. 

“You had to wake Leonard?” 

“Yes, he’s your doctor and left strict orders to be told if there was any change in your condition.” She responded and you instantly felt guilty. The pain was lessening to the point that you could begin to think clearly again and the thought of waking Leonard from his much needed sleep made you feel like a burden. 

“Oh, well, next time maybe just-”

“Next time she will do exactly the same thing.” Leonard’s voice came from the door. “Alright, Nurse, I’m here now, you can return to your station.” Her hands left you and were quickly replaced by Leonard’s, his weight replacing hers on the bed. 

“I’m sor-”

“Don’t you dare try to apologize for them waking me.” He reprimanded gently, his hands stroking your head, threading through your hair. “I told them to wake me and I outrank you.”

“I just… I know you need sleep.” You tried to explain, unbidden tears started falling again. “You work so hard and are so kind to me. I’m such a burden and I’m sorry for that, Leonard.”

“Hey, hey now, none of that.” His thumbs swept the tears away. “Here, lift your head up a little bit.” You lift your head off of the pillow and after a little bit of movement from Leonard he told you to lay back down only now his shoulder became your pillow. His arms wrapped around you and pulled you close. Once you realized where you were, you scooted closer to him, moving your head to his chest to listen to his heartbeat. You wrap one arm around him to hold him close. His other hand rubbed up and down your arm comfortingly. “Now you listen to me, Y/N, you are not now, nor have you ever been a burden to me. You are a joy to be around and if I have my way, I’m going to keep you around.”

“What do you mean?” You listened to his deep voice reverberate in his chest as he spoke.

“Scotty and I talked to Jim about transferring you to the Enterprise for the rest of the five year mission. We’re only a year in and we need more engineers already.”

“Really? Do you think command will go for it?” Suddenly, even the pain didn’t hold a candle to the hope of having a home on the Enterprise. Scotty would be an amazing boss and who knows what friendships might develop here.

“Jim tends to get what he wants, so I’m confident that you will be assigned quarters as soon as you can see.” His fingers threaded through your hair as his fingertips massaged your head. “For now though, just rest.”

“Leonard?” You whispered as the pain receded and sleep began to take over.

“Yeah?”

“Stay with me?” 

“I will.” His strong arms gave you a squeeze. “Computer, lights off.”


	8. Chapter 8

You woke up alone in your bed. 

“Leonard?” You softly say, reaching your hand out, searching the bed.

“I’m here, Y/N,” he responds from near where the table sat. The scraping of the chair on the floor indicated he got up and three steps later, the bed dipped with his weight and his warm hand covered yours. “How are you feeling, darlin’?”

“I think I’m okay, kinda… I don’t know… hung over is the best way I can describe it.”

“I understand, that’s generally how people feel after a migraine like you had.”

“A migraine? That’s what that was last night?”

“Yes, you haven’t had migraines before?” A tricorder’s whirring sounded above your head. 

“Nope, but I’ve heard about them from a friend who has them.” You flopped back on your pillow. “I have a whole new sympathy for her now. I feel like I should call her and tell that I understand now.”

“You certainly can,” Leonard laughed. “How’s your vision today?”

You paused a moment, realizing for the first time since you woke up that you can’t see anything. “Nothing. Nothing at all.” Tears began to well up and you can’t stop your lower lip from trembling a bit.

“Hey, no, honey don’t let it getcha down. I’m going to have Christine come in and do some additional scans. And I’m going to go over your test results from last night again and make sure I didn’t miss anything.”

“Alright.” You sniffled and his thumbs wiped your tears away. His weight began to shift as he moved to leave, but you grabbed his hand to make him stay. “Leonard, I wanted to thank you for staying with me last night.”

He sat back down and his hands helds yours tightly. “Darlin’, it was my pleasure. I will be in my office if you need anything, alright?” He gently runs his hand through your hair before rising and walking out of your room. Christine almost immediately replaced him in the room and helped you shower. After she ran her scans, you sat down with some breakfast, still feeling a little off. To go from seeing light and dark to back to nothing was very discouraging. Instead of falling into a pity party again, you decide to go sit with Leonard. You slowly began walking the path Christine had made you along the wall to his office. Just before you rounded the corner to get there, you heard voices coming from the office. You stopped to listen when you heard your name.

“What’s Y/N’s diagnosis, Bones?” Jim asked, his voice sounding concerned. 

“I’m waiting for more scans but right now, I think I’m going to need to actively work on bringing the swelling down. I’m concerned about permanent damage to the nerves behind her eyes.”

“What does ‘actively working’ look like?”

“Well, I’m going to try the most non-invasive therapy first. It’ll basically just put her to sleep while the medicine works to reduce swelling quickly. She’s experiencing migraines for the first time, and I don’t want those to become a pattern.”

“Aren’t there medications for migraines?”

“Yes, but they take a toll on the body that I don’t want her to have to deal with.” Leonard replied with a sigh.

“Have you talked to Y/N about any of this yet?”

“Not yet, I’ll talk to her once I go over the final scans that Christine is doing now.” 

“Bones?” Jim asked after a significant pause. 

“Yeah, Jim?” Leonard sounded very tired and worried.

“Do you have feelings for Y/N?” Jim asked so softly that you almost missed it.

“Do you?” Leonard replied just as softly.

“We’ve never fought over a woman before.” Jim laughed wryly. 

“No, we never have.” Bones agreed thoughtfully. “Look, Jim-”

The red alert klaxon suddenly blasted through the ship and a voice ordered “Captain Kirk to the bridge” as the ship jerked and you cried out as you fell to the floor.


	9. Chapter 9

The ship lurched to the right again but you were already on the floor. Between the loud klaxon going off and all the nurses rushing around, you didn’t hear Leonard’s footsteps run to you, so when his hands landed on your arms you jumped out of your skin.

“Sorry darlin’” Leonard mumbled as he lifted you to your feet. “Are you hurt?”

“No, what’s going on?” you asked as he started to pull you back to your room.

“I’m not sure but I need you to stay safe, Y/N. I know it’s hard, but please, stay in your room. Casualties are going to start coming in and I don’t want to have to worry about you getting trampled.” He sat you on your bed and either knelt or bent over because you felt his breath on your face. “Promise me, darlin’, please.”

“I’ll stay safe, Leonard, I promis," you replied. You felt his fingers brush your cheek before his footsteps quickly went back out into the Medbay, presumably to prepare for casualties. The ship lurched a couple more times, causing you to hold tight to your mattress to avoid being flung to the floor again. The noise of casualties grew louder as people filled the Medbay. Leonard and his staff seemed to have everything under control until an explosion rocked the Medbay and screams filled the air.

“Put that damn fire out!” Leonard yelled to someone over the din of yelling. “Bring that regen unit over here!”

Once the ship stopped rocking, you stood and moved to stand in the door of your room, wishing you could help somehow. Based on the smell of smoke and fire extinguishers, the fire was out but you don’t know what had exploded.

“Y/N,” Christine’s voice was right in front of you. “Are you okay?”

“Yes I’m okay,” you nod, aching to ask how you can help them. The noise level was still too high for you to feel like you could move without being in the way.

“Do you know anything about the regen power supply conduits?”

“Yes! Is that was exploded?”

“Yes, part of it. If I take you there, can you try and restore power? Only half of our regen units are working right now.”

“I’ll try, take me to it.” Christine took your outstretched hands and led you out into a corner of the Medbay to the conduit. “I’m going to need you to describe this to me,” you told her.

“Okay, I’ll try,” she took a deep breath. “The right side of the conduit is blow open and the fire melted almost all the wires together, they look like a bundled mess of colors. The left side looks fine, but all the lights are off like it’s not getting power at all.”

“Is it still hot? Can I touch it?”

“It’s cool now.”

“Okay.” Reaching behind the main panel on the left hand side, you flip the power switch off so that you didn’t electrocute yourself while splicing the wires together. You reached out your hands and put your right hand on the bundle of wires and your left hand on the part of the conduit not blown to bits. The bundle of wires that normally would have been supplying the power was melted into one fist-sized hunk of metal and plastic, you would have to bypass them somehow. Reaching back behind what’s left of the panel, you found the main lead wire that felt like it was in pretty good shape. “Can you find me some wire cutters, Christine?”

“Sure, stay right here, I’ll be back.” She ran away but returned quickly with an entire tool kit. “Scotty leaves a spare in Leonard’s office for emergencies like this,” she explained quickly.

“Christine I need you over here!” Leonard’s voice sounded strong and calm in the midst of the chaos, but far away, like his back was to you.

“Stay here, I’ll be back as soon as I can. Stay against the wall and you’ll be out of the way.”

“Christine, bring a working regen unit with you!” Leonard called again, his voice slightly further away, like his back was to you. “Someone get an engineer up here to get power restored, we can’t work like this for long!”

You reach into Scotty’s bag and found wire cutters and got back to work. Pulling the lead wire out as far as it would come, you clipped it from the melted bundle and patched it directly into the left side of the conduit. Flipping the switch again, the sound of power flowing through the conduit filled your ears and a cheer went up from a couple of nurses as their regen units whirred back to life. Not wanting to be in the way, you turned and leaned your back against the wall. The chaos seemed to have died down a little bit; the noise level was once again back to a normal volume.

Leonard barked instructions to various nurses and patients.

“Hand me that hypo, nurse. You get back in bed, Ensign, or I will strap you down. No, you’re not fine, your head is bleeding and your ankle is sprained. Unbelievable.” You smiled listening to him. He was so calm in the face of the emergency and his grumpiness shone through as if the wounded were almost an inconvenience. Almost. His gentle touch and care for each person belied his grumpy voice and threats. A grump with a heart of fluff, that’s what you decided Leonard was. 

Suddenly, a new voice lifted from among the crowd. “Bones!”

“Jim! Are you hurt? Of course you are!”

“I’m fine, Spock forced me to come down here. Just a bump on the head.”

“Oh, you’re probably fine then.”

“Need any help?” Jim asked him from a place closer to you than before.

“No, only minor injuries.” Bones replied, still far away.

“Okay, I’ll just take Y/N back to her room and wait for you there.”

“Y/N’s not in her room!?” Leonard’s voice suddenly became louder, as if he finally turned and saw you standing against the wall. “What are you doing out here?!” He demanded gruffly.

“Come on,” Jim whispered, grabbing your arm. “I’ll save you.”

You couldn’t help but giggle as Jim led you back to you room.


	10. Chapter 10

Jim gently led you back to your room and sat you at the table. From the sound of his sigh, he laid down on your bed.

“Are you really okay, Jim?” You asked, worried that he was hurt worse than he let on.

“My heads hurts a little, but Bones was right, it’s the hardest part of my body so I’m probably fine.” He laughed dryly. “Fair warning though, if Bones told you to stay in here and you didn’t, he’s going to be very grumpy about it. But don’t take it too personally, the grumpier he is with you, the more he likes you.”

“DAMN IT, WOMAN!” Bones’ voice boomed through the room from the doorway making you jump and place a hand over your pounding heart.

“Wow.” Jim whispered. “That’s intense.”

You giggled even while your heart hammered in your chest at hearing the worry and anger in Bones’ voice. He took two steps and was kneeling in front of you, running gentle but urgent hands up your arms and over your head. “Are you hurt? I told you to stay in here for your own safety.”

“Leonard please,” you flailed a little bit but eventually found his hands and held them in yours. “I’m okay, I promise. Christine helped me get to the regen power conduit so I could fix it.”

“You fixed that?!” Leonard’s voice displayed his awe. “And Christine pulled you into that chaos?” And the anger was back.

“Yes, and please remember to thank her later for her quick thinking,” you replied firmly, holding his hands tightly.

“Wait, what did I miss?” Jim asked, still on the bed.

“A regen power conduit blew and our genius engineer here fixed it in record time and without the benefit of actually being able to see that she wasn’t going to electrocute herself.” Leonard explained, his voice dripping with unconcealed disapproval.

“Hey, Bones, I think I’m bleeding over here.” Jim said.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re fine.” Leonard brushed him off, still focused on you. “When I asked you to stay in here, it was for your safety, you understand that right?”

“Of course I understand it Leonard, I’m not an infant.” You replied quickly, cutting off any further lectures. “But I need you to understand that I’m an engineer and damn good one at that. There are things that I can, and have, fixed blindfolded-“

“Blindfolded?” Jim interrupted.

“Yeah, it was a dare, I’ll tell you later,” you replied to him before focusing back on Leonard. “There was something that needed to be fixed to save lives or at least to save skin and as long as it’s in my power to fix something to help someone else, I will do it, even if the amazing Doctor Leonard McCoy tells me to stay put.”

“Well,” Leonard sputtered a little bit, “I’m still going to talk to Christine.”

“To thank her for thinking so quickly and pulling me in to help?” You prompted him.

“We’ll see,” Bones huffed as he turned and his voice aimed at Jim. “Now, you’re bleeding, did you say?”

“Just from my head, it’s fine.” Jim replied as a tricorder whined over him.

“Just a slight abrasion. Looks worse than it is.” Bones quickly diagnosed. “Go see Christine and she will fix you up.”

“Yes Sir,” Jim laughed and his steps sounded as he walked out of the room. Leonard’s hands gently covered yours on your lap, making you jump. His thumb gently rubs circles on the back of your knuckles.

“Sorry, I should have warned you,” Leonard mumbled, his breath on your face. “I’m sorry for losing it with you, Y/N.”

“It’s okay, Leonard,” you moved one of your hands on top of his. “I know your concern is my safety. But I needed to help, I’m tired of feeling useless!”

“I understand. I guess now is as good a time as any to talk about your diagnosis.”

“Yes, tell me.” You squeezed his hands, urging him to not hold back any details. 

“I’m starting to get concerned about permanent damage to the nerves behind your eyes, so I would like to start a treatment that will begin to reduce the swelling, but it will pretty much knock you out for a day or so. The medicine is pretty strong and I want to avoid any more migraines while the swelling is going down.” His hands were gently massaging yours, strong capable hands that were so gentle on your skin. 

“Okay, that doesn’t sound too bad.” You agreed, letting your fingers thread through his, a blush creeping up your face. 

“If it doesn’t work, then we’re looking at surgery to release the pressure. That’s my last resort though. I think the medicine will work just fine and you don’t have any allergies listed in your file so I don’t anticipate any problems.” Bones continued to explain as his fingers continued to move over yours in a dance as intimate as hands can be.

“I understand. That sounds good. When do you want to do this?” You asked, trying to focus on his words but his touch was very distracting.

“I need to get the Medbay back in order, so how about tomorrow? I’ll want a good night of sleep beforehand so that I can monitor you constantly.”

“Leonard, you don’t have to live by my bedside,” you chided him gently. “Don’t you have nurses that you trust?”

“Absolutely I do, but this is you, darlin’, and I want to make sure that you’re okay.” One of his hands left yours and cupped your face, his thumb making a path on your cheek.

“Hey Bones,” Jim’s voice sounded from the door. “Scotty’s here and he’s asking who did what to his power conduit.”

“Oh boy,” Leonard muttered. “Now you have to explain to the man himself what you did.” He gently held your hand as you stood and walked out to the power conduit where Scotty stood sputtering various and assorted curses.


	11. Chapter 11

Leonard’s back stayed against your chest as Scotty finally finished his muttering enough to actually ask what happened. Christine had joined the four of you to give her explanation. Once everyone was done explaining their version of the events of the power conduit exploding, he finally asked you exactly what you did to bypass half of the conduit to restore power. You stepped away from Leonard and carefully let your hand drag along the wall until you felt the mangled side of the conduit. You showed Scotty how you spliced the wires together to bypass the damaged portion and restore power. It was only a temporary patch because the bypassed portion was the buffer that was required to prevent overloads and power surges, but it worked for the emergency. Scotty called in a crew with spare parts to fix it correctly.

Sitting back down at the table in your room, Leonard and Jim went off to their own jobs and Scotty sat down with you for a little chat.

“Lassie, I have to admit that you did a fair job of that conduit, but as chief engineer I have to tell you that it was a dangerous and reckless thing to do in your condition.” He started off very seriously. “However, you saved the day here and that’s something. In the future, I expect my engineers to show the same amount of the enthusiasm and ingenuity, tempered with more sense of self-preservation. I can’t have my best engineer blowing herself up before she even gets started!”

“Scotty, are you saying what I think you’re saying?” You wanted so hard to believe that you would be the next crewmember of the Enterprise but you dared not until you heard it plain and clear.

“Aye, lass, your transfer has been approved and it’s official. Lieutenant Y/N Y/L/N, you are now an official member of the starship Enterprise and promoted to Assistant Chief of Engineering as soon as you can see properly.” The grin in his voice spoke volumes and echoed the joy in your laugh as you reached out with grabby hands to hug him. He leaned forward and you wrapped your arms around his neck in a tight squeeze before sitting back in your chair, almost bouncing with glee. To be assigned to the Enterprise was a huge notch in your career but to be Assistant Chief of Engineering was beyond your dreams!

 

“Now, I have to get back to work but I’ll be keeping tabs on your progress and we will get you assigned quarters and your uniforms will be put in there.” Scotty explained quickly. “Keep working on that infernal machine I gave you, I’ll come back in a few hours and you can tell me what ye’ve discovered about it.”

 

“Yes Sir,” you replied with a grin. With a chuckle, Scotty rose and his footsteps faded as he walked out of your room and the Medbay. With a smile, you leaned back in your chair thinking about the possibilities. Assigned to the Enterprise for the next four years! A home and a family. You were still mulling over your good fortune when Christine dropped off a lunch tray for you. The emergency had everyone working hard on their own jobs, so since you had no job yet and no one to talk to, you decided to take a nap. Crawling into your bed, you told the computer to turns the lights off (not that you could see them yet), and laid your head down. 

 

_ You were dancing in the engine room of a random starship. No one else was in the room, just you and the person you were dancing with. Looking up, you couldn’t see the person’s face but the shirt was golden yellow so you assumed it was Jim. He whirled you around in a waltz, his hands strong and gentle on your hand and waist. At a high point in the song, he twirled you around and around until you were dizzy. When he hands finally grabbed your waist to stop your spinning, you were facing his chest. The shirt was blue.  “Y/N…. Y/N.” A hand grabbed your shoulder… _

 

“Y/N, darlin’ wake up.” Leonard’s hand on your shoulder shook you gently. 

 

“Leonard?” You ask groggily, habit demanding that you rub your eyes even though it doesn’t clear your vision at all. 

 

“It’s me, are you okay? You were gasping in your sleep.” His deep voice reverberated through the room. 

 

“I was dreaming of dancing,” you say before you thought about it. 

 

“Oh yeah?” A tricorder’s whirring started above you. “With anyone interesting?”

 

“I’m not sure, I couldn’t see.”

 

“Wait a minute, you were blind in your dream?” Leonard asked, concern filtering his voice. 

 

“No, I could see where I was, my surroundings, I just couldn’t see who I was dancing with, I think it was two people actually.” You paused to allow your brain to catch up with your mouth and, forcing a smile, you shrug. “It’s just a dream, no big deal. What’s up, Leonard?”

 

“I just wanted to check on you before I left.” He said softly, his hand covering yours on the bed.

 

“Left? What time is it anyway?” You struggled to sit up, your body still not fully awake. 

 

“It’s about halfway through Beta shift I guess. You slept pretty hard, this is the third time I’ve checked on you.” 

 

“Wow, I have no concept of time,” you chuckle dryly, ready to have your life back. “Are we starting treatment tomorrow morning?”

 

“Yes, if that’s what you still want.”

 

“It is. I want to be able to see again.” You replied determined. 

 

“Then that’s what we will do. Eat a good meal tonight and I’ll be back first thing in the morning and we will get started. You will most likely just sleep through the rest of the day and maybe into the next day, but I will be monitoring you the whole time. Okay?” His warm hand cupped your cheek.

 

“Okay, Leonard,” you place your hand over his on your cheek. “I trust you implicitly.” 


	12. Chapter 12

Leonard left soon after he woke you, saying there were things he needed to get done so that he could focus on you for the next few days. After the medicine had done its job and you woke up, he said he would need to keep monitoring you for any negative reactions or side effects of the treatment for another day or so.

Soon after he left and Christine checked on you again, you sat at your table working on the machine Scotty had left for you. It didn’t feel familiar at all. You had heard stories about old earth recorders being found randomly throughout space, mostly used by black marketers because they can’t be traced without being modified. The buttons and knobs on it might indicated a recording device but it could also just be an old puzzle box. You fiddled with it until a knock sounded from your door.

“Come in,” you called and heard the door slide open with a swoosh.

“Dinner is served.” Jim announced, accompanied by the sound of dishes rattling on a tray.

“Oh boy, what are we eating?” You asked, realizing now how hungry you were.

“Well, Bones ordered what he considers a ‘hearty meal’ for you since you’re going to be sleeping for the next day or so.” He set the tray down on the table with a thud and tinkling of glasses. “So it looks like we have fried chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans and possibly cherry pie for dessert.”

“Wow,” you laughed. “He’s trying to make me fat!”

“I don’t think you have anything to worry about, Y/N.” Jim replied smoothly, a chair scraping the floor as he sat down with you.

“Are you eating with me?” You ignored his compliment although you could feel your cheeks heating up.

“I thought I might, if you don’t mind the company,” he answered, the sound of plates and silverware being placed on the table underlying his words.

“Some company would be lovely,” you replied as he put your plate in front of you and carefully helped you find where everything on your plate was located. Eating was always a little bit messy with with fried chicken, you could easily pick it up with your hands. Luckily you weren’t self-conscious in front of anyone about it. Reality was what it was, no need being self-conscious about it. “So, what was that attack all about?”

“Well,” Jim swallowed his bite and cleared his throat, nervously it sounded to you. “Spock’s theory is that we surprised a pirate ship.”

“A pirate ship? Really?” You raised an eyebrow skeptically.

“Space pirates, it happens, although they don’t call themselves that.”

“Suuure… Okay, so you surprised them and they attacked.”

“Right, but as soon as they realized that they were outgunned 3 to 1, they turned tail and ran. We are currently tracking them at what Spock considers a safe distance to see what they are up to. Based on their warp signature, Spock is thinking that this might be the ship that attacked your transport vessel.”

“Really?” Your fork clanged on the table as you dropped it in your shock. “Are you sure? What did they want? Why did the destroy the transport ship? Can I help? I don’t know how I could help, I never actually saw them, but please please tell me what I can do!” You rattled on.

Jim’s soft laugh stopped your questions, “I don’t have answers to any of that except one. The way you can help is to get better. Once your sight is restored we can work on whatever else needs to be done. But right now, you have one job. Understood, Lieutenant?”

“Yes, Sir.” You answered with a frown, you wanted to do so much more but knew you just couldn’t yet.

“Y/N,” Jim took your hands in his, thumbs making paths across your knuckles. “I say this not as your captain but as Jim Kirk: I need you to focus on you right now. And when you’re better, then you can focus on the million other things that await you out there. But not yet. I know it’s hard waiting, but take advantage of this time to rest because once Scotty gets you in engineering, rest will be hard to come by.”

“Yeah,” you gave a small laugh, knowing he was right about Scotty. “Jim?”

“Yes?” he replied, still holding your hands.

“Thank you for everything. I’m so proud to be assigned to the Enterprise and I’m excited to get started. I know this whole situation hasn’t been ideal, but I just wanted to thank you.”

“My pleasure, beautiful,” his hand ran down your hair and cupped your cheek, it was warm and strong. “As for being assigned here, if Scotty could have gotten you right out of the academy, he would have. I do have something else I need to talk to you about though, something more… personal.”

“Alright,” you replied, already having an idea about what he wanted to talk about. You talked late into the night, Jim finally yawning and taking himself to bed. He promised to be back the next morning before Leonard gave you the medicine, what you had dubbed the “sleeping drug”. Jim wrapped you in a huge hug and sweetly kissed your head before he left quietly. You smiled as you laid down in your bed, excited to be able to see again and start the next part of your life.


	13. Chapter 13

You slept on and off until finally you gave up and moved to the table and fiddled with the mystery machine until a knock sounded and Jim came in.

“Good morning,” he said, “How did you sleep?”

“Not much, but that’s okay,” you replied, sniffing the air. “Is that coffee I smell?”

“And a danish, courtesy of your boss in engineering who gave me a message for you,” he replied thumping the mug and plate on the table in front of you and placing your hands on each of them. “He said to ‘get yer sight back quick, lassie, work’s a’waitin’ fer ye.’”

You laughed out loud at his imitation of Scotty’s accent and cadence. You were still laughing when Leonard came in.

“Well, nice to hear the patient is in good spirits!” He drawled. “I can only imagine what Jim said that was so funny. I mean, you can’t see how funny he looks so I can only guess it was something he said.”

“Oh har har, Bones.” Jim replied, his chair scraping as he sat at the table. “Just for that, I’m going to eat your danish.”

“That stuff’ll kill ya, ya know,” Leonard replied smartly. “Well, are we ready to get started?”

“Just about,” you took your last sip of coffee and relished the bitter liquid going over your tongue and down your throat. With no sight, everything else was enhanced, even drinking coffee. The smell and flavor and feel of the drink made your eyes close in bliss as a sigh escaped your lips. “Okay, I’m ready now.”

“Wow, if that’s how she reacts to coffee, I can’t wait to see how she reacts to your bourbon, Bones.” Jim whispered loudly. You only snorted in response.

“Alright then, if everyone is ready,” Leonard started. “We need to move you to a biobed so that I can monitor you properly, Y/N.”

“Okay,” you stood and held out your hand for someone to lead you. A couple of seconds and a little rustling passed before Leonard’s hand took yours and led you out of your room to a biobed. You bowed your head and smiled to yourself because you recognized Leonard’s hand by touch.

Leonard helped you up on the bed and got you comfortable before tapping a few buttons and the beeping began as the bed monitored you. Christine brought you a blanket and made sure you were all set to go while Leonard loaded the hypos, he and Jim talking quietly to your left. You couldn’t make out what they were saying, you just heard the rumble of their voices.

“Leonard?” you called out, a small tremble in your voice that you just couldn’t seem to quell.

“What is it, darlin’?” His hand took of yours and his other hand rested on your head.

“I guess I’m a little nervous,” you chuckled a little bit as your voice continued to tremor. “Could you just explain everything to me again?”

“Of course I will,” he replied sweetly. “There will be four hypos, one given every three hours over the course of the day. You will mostly likely sleep through all but the first one. The medicine will reduce the swelling behind your eyes and your sight should return when you wake up. I will be here to monitor your vitals and reaction to the meds the entire time, I promise.”

“Okay,” you nod once. “Okay, let’s do it.”

“Alright, darlin’, here we go.” He placed the first hypo against your neck and released the medicine, his fingers quickly massaging the sting away. “I’ll be right here to the whole time.”

“Sleep well,” Jim said from the other side of the bed. “See you later, okay Y/N?”

“Thanks Jim,” you smiled sleepily, the medicine already making you drowsy. Jim patted your hand and his footsteps faded away. You turned your head back to where Leonard hard been and reached out your fingers tentatively. He quickly grasped your hand.

“I’m still here,” he said softly, but there was something else in his voice, something you couldn’t quite identify. You made a mental note to ask him about it when you woke up. In the meantime, the corners of your mouth pulled up in a small smile as you squeezed his hand and drifted to sleep....


	14. Chapter 14

You drifted back in consciousness slowly and kind of sideways somehow. The medicine apparently was still in your system enough to make you feel dizzy and disoriented but you were sure you were waking up. Without opening your eyes, you took stock of your body. Toe wiggle: check. Leg twitch: check. Slight knee bend: check. Hip wiggle: check. Fingers and hands: check. Arms and shoulders: check. Neck: check. Head: to be determined. A soft, deep chuckle sounded to your left. Leonard’s chuckle. A tiny grin worked its way through your dizziness.

“How ya feeling, darlin’?” he asked, his voice sounding a little closer than his chuckle. “Everything seem to be in working order?”

“Dizzy. A little nauseous. Thirsty. Need a bathroom.” you whisper, your voice not really wanting to work yet and you mouth felt like you had been feasting on cotton. A tricorder whined above you and you finally noticed the beeping of the biobed over your head.

“The swelling is gone but the medicine definitely took its toll. I’m not surprised you’re dizzy and nauseous.” The tricorder silenced and a warm hand cupped your cheek and you could feel his breath on your face. “Y/N, open your eyes for me, sweetheart.” he whispered.

You took in a deep breath and let out a wry laugh. “I’m nervous, Leonard.”

“I know, honey, just trust me and open you eyes. Please.” His thumb made a path on your cheekbone as he patiently waited for you to overcome your inner struggle. You finally decided to just go for it and blinked open and shut once. The light was painfully blinding and tears immediately filled your eyes. Leonard turned the lights down. “Do it again Y/N.”

You slowly opened your eyes a crack, the light level was tolerable but everything was out of focus. You blinked a few times, trying to get control of your eyes and rid them of the fuzziness. Slowly, the room came into focus and you dared to look left and up and into Leonard’s face for the first time. Dark hair surrounded one of the most handsome faces you had ever seen. He had hazel eyes, strong cheekbones, and just enough scruff to make you wonder if he really had stayed by your bedside the entire time.

“Hi there.” he said with a smile that made your heart beat a little faster, the heart monitor on the biobed sped up with you.

“Hi.” you whispered. He brought a straw to your lips and you sipped some water, giving your mouth some relief. “Nice to see you.”

His chuckle sounded throughout the room, bringing in a beautiful blonde woman in a blue dress.

“Welcome back, Y/N.” Christine said as she smiled and helped you to the bathroom and settled you back in your biobed again. She handed Leonard a hypo and went back to her duties.

“This is for the nausea and dizziness.” Leonard explained. “Based on your body’s reactions while you were sleeping, I anticipated how you would feel when you woke up.”

“What do you mean?” You asked, reaching for the water again. Leonard held the cup for you and explained while you drink.

“You had a slightly stronger reaction than I expected. Apparently you don’t take a lot of medicines. I ended up lowering the dose in the last two injections and spanning them out further.” he pauses as he puts the cup back down. “You’ve been asleep for two whole days, Y/N.”

“No wonder I’m so hungry,” you croak out, making Leonard laugh.

Just then, a gorgeous blonde with sparkling blue eyes wearing a golden yellow shirt appeared over Leonard’s shoulder. “How’s our girl, Bones?”

“She’s doing just fine, Jim.” Leonard answered gruffly, moving aside to give up his stool next to your bed. Jim sat down and took your hand, his thumb rubbing over your knuckles.

“Hiya beautiful.” he said with a grin.

“Hi.” you respond with a grin of your own. “You didn’t tell me you were so handsome, Captain.”

“Yeah well, I’m a modest guy.” Jim responded with a shrug.

“HA!” Leonard cackled in the corner.

“Well, it’s nice to see you finally.” You smile and begin to sit up. Leonard moved opposite Jim and both men helped you find a comfortable position. “I think those last meds are helping, I’m not so dizzy and nauseous anymore.”

“Good,” Leonard nodded. “I’ll ask Christine to bring you in some food, something easy on your stomach.”

“Y/N,” Jim started when Leonard left. “I need to ask you some questions about what happened on your transport ship.”

“Okay, I’ll answer anything I can, but I honestly didn’t see anything.”

“I understand, but do you remember exactly who shoved you into the escape pod? Was it a member of the crew or a passenger?”

“A passenger I think.” you responded, staring at the wall, trying to picture him in your head. You closed your eyes to think. “A stout man about my height. I was surprised at how strong he was. He had a scar on his face and neck from right in front of his ear all the way down under his shirt.” You opened your eyes and stared at Jim.

“Did he say anything to you?”

“I don’t remember, maybe, but I’m not sure. Why? What’s happened?”

Jim opened his mouth to answer, but Christine appeared just then with some food. It looked like oatmeal but it was refreshingly cool and light. Jim excused himself to talk to Leonard while you ate and left you with Christine.

“What happened while I was sleeping, Christine?” You asked around small bites of food.

“I’m not sure of all the details,” she whispered, leaning in close. “But the rumor is that the Captain has spoken with the pirates and they claim something was stolen from them and the thief was on that transport ship.”

“Thieves attacked an unarmed transport ship because something was stolen from them?”

“Apparently it wasn’t just a transport ship, Y/N. They were transporting a cargo hold full of stolen goods.”


	15. Chapter 15

You were still staring at Christine in shock when Leonard came back in to check on you. He stopped short when he saw the look on your face.

“What’s going on here?” He asked carefully.

“Christine was filling me in on what I missed.” you explained, blinking your eyes a couple of times and rubbing them, trying to wrap your head around what she told you. Leonard glared Christine and she slipped out of the room. “Don’t be mad at her, Leonard, she only answered my questions honestly.”

“I know, Y/N, I just wanted you to recover a little bit more before you got thrown into the fray.” He sighed and sat down on the stool next to your bed.

“Leonard, I’m okay, just a little droopy I guess.” you lean your heavy head back against the pillow that had been propped up behind you. Leonard looked into your bowl, lifting the spoon to let some of the substance drop back into the bowl. He looked at you with a raised eyebrow. “It tastes better than it looks.” you shrugged. He refocused his attention on the contents of the bowl

“Leonard?”

“Hmmm?”

“What did you mean by ‘the fray’? What else is going on that I should know about?”

Leonard heaved a heavy sigh. “I should let Jim fill you in, but there’s an investigation beginning because of the ship you were on.”

“Am I being investigated?” you asked.

“The short answer is yes.” Leonard responded with a weary sigh. “But I don’t expect it will take more than a few minutes to prove your innocence given your service record and willingness to cooperate. Jim’s already informed Starfleet command of your willingness to answer all of his questions and the circumstances in which we found you. It is basically an informal inquiry conducted entirely within Enterprise. Spock will stop by to ask you some questions.”

“Spock?” you asked, your heart falling with his every word.

“Science Officer, second in command. He’s a Vulcan and Starfleet is banking on his natural impartiality to the personnel on this ship.” Leonard’s sigh said it all. Everything he was worried about was written all over his face for you to see. You close your eyes against it and the tears that had built up. Maybe having your sight back wasn’t such a great thing after all. Leonard’s hand rested on top of yours and his fingers threaded between yours. Opening your eyes, you could only look down at your hands, moving one of yours to cover his. “Y/N, please look at me.”

You slowly lifted your eyes to meet his. He leaned forward slightly as his other hand cupped your cheek. He searched your eyes for any sign that he should stop. You fell deeper into the hazel depths, just managing to catch your breath when his lips landed ever so softly on yours. His kiss was gentle and sweet. You moved one of your hands to the back of his neck and tilted your head to deepen the kiss. His hand on your cheek moved back and threaded through your hair. His lips moved against yours, his scruff scratching against your skin deliciously. He pulled back before you were ready and his inner conflict played across his face like an old movie, pulling at your heart.

“Y/N, I-” he started but stopped when hurried footsteps sounded the arrival of Jim Kirk.

“Bones, I need to talk to Y/N please.” He said, slightly out of breath like he had been running.

Leonard glared at the ceiling but moved from the stool to the stand on the other side of you and let Jim sit.

“I’m sorry, Y/N, but I need to ask you just a few more questions.”

“I understand,” you nodded and squared your shoulders, not showing any of the fears you allowed Leonard to see. “Go ahead, Captain.”

Jim’s eyebrows drew together in concern. He shared a wordless glance with Leonard over your head that you purposefully chose to ignore. As the Captain of the Enterprise, Jim had a job to do and this investigation was part of it. You wouldn’t allow your emotions, which were currently in a tizzy, to interfere with his job. You would cooperate every step of the way.

“In your escape pod,” Jim began finally. “Was there anything with you? Did you bring anything with you?”

“No, I hadn’t planned on escaping, I had planned on helping. Unlike Mr. Scott I don’t carry a tool kit with me everywhere I go. I didn’t notice anything with me in the pod, but then, I wasn’t really looking for anything. Why do you ask?”

“The ship that attacked you was looking for something stolen from them and apparently it had a tracking device inside it. They claim it was in the escape pod.” He explained.

“I haven’t seen the pod since I lost consciousness in it. I don’t even know where it is right now.” You said, shrugging your shoulders.

“It’s in launch bay two actually,” Jim replied thoughtfully. “Scotty was the one who checked it over, now that I think about it…. Thanks, Y/N, I have to go talk to Scotty.”

“No problem,” you mumbled as respectfully as your growing headache would allow. You brought your hands up to your face and rubbed your eyes, they were getting tired.

“Y/N?” Jim asked, his hands gently pulling yours down from your face. He continued once had your attention again. “I promise you, this investigation will be over before you know it. It will not be on your service record and then you can finally get to work doing what you love.”

“Okay, Jim,” you allowed a small smile to take over your face. “I’ll hold you to that promise.”

Jim returned your smile, gave your hands a squeeze, and ran off to find Scotty. Leonard cleared his throat on the other side of you and when he saw your eyes, he frowned.

“A little red around the edges,” he mumbled. “Let’s get you settled back in your room so you can rest. Tomorrow, if you’re feeling okay, you can go to your assigned quarters. Okay?”

“Sure Leonard, that would be great.” He helped you off the biobed and back to your room in the Medbay. He settled you back in bed with care, his hands sure and gentle. He dimmed the lights and before your eyes closed from sheer weariness, they fell on Scotty’s mystery machine. A black square on an empty table in the dim light.


	16. Chapter 16

Even though you had slept for the past two days, you slept soundly through the night. Christine woke you the next morning with breakfast and some news. Spock was planning on speaking with you today. After breakfast, Christine gave you a clean red uniform dress that the requisitions officer had dropped off and after a shower and getting dressed, you were beginning to feel like yourself again. Sitting at the small table in your room, you began fiddling with the small square machine Scotty gave you. The more you played with it, the more you were convinced that it was an old recording device. The power supply was drained and you were just thinking about a good substitute when Leonard came in.

“How ya feeling this morning, Y/N?” he asked tightly, his eyes trained on his customary tricorder’s screen.

“I’m okay, Leonard. A slight headache but I think that’s more from sleeping for the last couple of days than anything else.” you chuckled as he looked over the tricorder readings.

“Any residual fuzziness in your vision?”

“Nope, everything seems to be in working order. Back to normal.” You laughed a little, waiting for Leonard to join in your joy or at least smile at you. He didn’t. He looked worried and bogged down and he had yet to actually look at you. “Leonard, are you okay?”

“Y/N,” he took a deep breath and moved to stand on the other side of the small room. “About yesterday and that kiss…”

“Yes?” You asked, trying to be patient as he struggled with his words and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He took a few deep breaths and began to pace as he spoke.

“I just wanted to apologize. I had no right to kiss you. You had barely been awake for three seconds and I know you’re with Jim, and I... so... I just needed to say that I’m sorry and it won’t happen again.” He rushed through his explanation, never even looking at you. Had he been looking, he would have seen the shock and sadness cross your face.

“Leonard,” you started softly, “I’m-”

“Hey, there’s my girl!” Jim said loudly from the doorway. “Spock is ready for your interview, Y/N, if you’re feeling up to it.”

“I’m fine, Captain, I’m ready.” You stood and sent Leonard a look that you hoped communicated a to-be-continued scenario, but he still refused to look at you. Leaving a piece of your heart in the Medbay, you followed Jim out. “You didn’t need to come down and get me, Jim, I could have found my own way to whatever conference room.”

“Nah, I needed a walk anyway.” Jim pressed the button and the lift opened immediately. As you both stepped in, he clasped his hands behind his back and bounced on his toes, looking at you out of the corner of his eye. “So, I walked in on something, didn’t I?”

“Yes,” you replied, folding your arms across your chest. “Leonard thinks you and I are together and he was apologizing for kissing me yesterday.”

“Oh…” Jim had the good grace to look sheepish. “I’m sorry about that. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“I’m not sure right now. I just need to talk to him I think.”

“Alright, just know that if things with Bones don’t work out, I’m still available.” Jim replied with a cheesy grin, waggling his eyebrows at you. The lift paused and the doors opened to allow Scotty to enter.

“Oh, Lassie, so good to see you up and about and looking well!” He grinned and rubbed his hands together. “Are ye ready to get to work then?”

“Just about, I have to meet with Mr. Spock and then get settled in my quarters. I’m pretty sure Leonard will release me for duty today.”

“Oh you’re going to see Mr. Spock too? He asked me to come up for a few questions about your escape pod.” Scotty’s eyebrows raised to his hairline. The lift doors opened and the three of you made the quick journey down the hallway to the conference room. Mr. Spock stood when you entered.

“Lieutenant Y/L/N,” he began. “Welcome to the Enterprise.”

“Thank you, Mr. Spock. I’m honored to be here.”

“Please be seated,” he gestured to two seats on one side of the table while he and Jim took two seats opposite you and Scotty.

“Mr. Scott,” Spock began, steepling his fingers in front of him in a picture of serene concentration. “In the escape pod, did you find anything out of the ordinary?”

“The pod was quite beat up, for sure. The only thing in the escape pod that didn’t belong there is that wee black puzzle box that I gave to Y/N to tinker with.”

“Do you still possess the puzzle box, Lieutenant?”

“Yes, sir. It’s in my room in the Medbay, but I don’t think it’s a puzzle box. I think it’s an old style recording device, but I can’t be sure until I replace or replenish the power supply.” You reply, watching Scotty’s reaction out of the corner of your eye.

“A recording device, ye say?” Scotty looked at you surprised. “Well, I did say if ye figured it out, ye’d be the best engineer I’ve seen. You’ll need to be the one to fix it then, Lassie.” He chuckled.

“Please begin your work on repairing the device as soon as possible, Lieutenant.” Mr. Spock commanded in an even tone that can either be very comforting or very frustrating. “We will reconvene here when it is in working order. Unfortunately, until such time as your innocence can be ascertained, you will need to stay confined to quarters. Mr. Scott can provide you with the necessary tools and equipment you may need for the repair of the device.”

Mr. Spock stood, indicating the end of the brief meeting. Scotty ushered you out of the conference room and down the hallway.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence Scotty.” you said as you waited for the lift.

“O’course lass.” he replied with a grin, stepping into the newly arrived lift. “Now, t’the important question: will it be the captain or the good doctor?”


	17. Chapter 17

“Mr. Scott, are you always so nosy with your engineer’s personal lives?” you asked with a smile.

“Aye.” he replied, unapologetic.

“It’s complicated.” you replied as the lift doors opened on one of the quarter decks, which one you weren’t sure.

“Aye, most relationship are.” Scotty agreed, leading you down one of the hallways. He stopped in front of a door that opened to reveal standard crew quarters. “I’ll give ye this piece of advise though, lass: follow yer heart, even if it leads down a hard road. You’ll never forgive yourself if ya don’t.”

“Sound advice, Scotty, thank you.” you replied with a huge grin. The Enterprise was already feeling like home and family, things you had desperately missed. “I’ll need to get my things from the Medbay.”

“I’ll have them sent to you along with a toolkit. Comm me for anything else ye need.” he replied, taking his leave.

“Thanks, Scotty.” you told him as he stepped out of your doorway, letting it swoosh closed with a wink at you.

While waiting for your things, few though they may be, to be sent down from the Medbay, you investigated your quarters. Slightly larger than those of the Farragut, you had the standard bedroom/bathroom/living area/kitchenette. You found some more uniforms in a box on your coffee table, pants and dresses. A small vase of silk flowers from Christine sat on the table with a “Welcome to the family” note that brought a tear to your eye.

Going over to the replicator, you ordered your favorite hot tea and a scone. Sitting down at your table, you stare at the flowers while you eat, trying to figure out what to do with Leonard. He thought you and Jim were together. He was wrong, of course. Jim and you had had a long talk about what you wanted and what he wanted and you didn’t want the same things. He was married to the ship and happily so. You hadn’t had that talk with Leonard, but he clearly wanted you based on his kiss. You had felt that kiss all the way down to your toes. Shaking your head, you heaved a sigh, being confined to quarters you couldn’t exactly go talk to him and clear the air. You were so deep in your thoughts that the chime at your door made you jump. Opening the door, you stood face to face with a very nervous looking Leonard. In his arms he held the black box, which was really your only belonging, (everything else had been destroyed with the transport ship) and over his shoulder hung a tool kit from Scotty. Bless that meddling engineer’s heart.

“Come in,” you said, stepping aside. He stepped inside after a bit of hesitation and set the box and kit on the coffee table next to your box of uniforms.

“Scotty told me you needed this.” he said, his eyes looking everywhere but at you.

“Thank you for bringing it.” you replied softly.

“He pretty much ordered me to, even though he can’t technically give me orders.”

“Leonard,” you begin. “Please sit for a minute.” You waved a hand to the couch. Time to have it out with the man.

Leonard sat on the edge of a cushion, taking up as little space as possible. His hands resting on his thighs. You smiled at the picture he made sitting there like he was a child about to get reprimanded. He rubbed his hands up and down his thighs nervously.

“Listen, Y/N,” he abruptly stood and began pacing again. “I just-”

“Leonard-” you try to interrupt.

“No, no, let me finish please. This isn’t easy for me.” he held up his hand in your general direction.

You nod once and sit back, even though he wasn’t looking at you to see your acceptance. He paced a few more rounds around the small room, sat in a chair, stood up and paced again.

“Okay, here it is. I like you and that’s putting it damn mildly.” he finally admitted, still pacing and still not looking at you. “I know I shouldn’t, I know you’re not mine, but these past few days, I just…. I can’t ignore it anymore. I can’t compete against Jim. He’s my friend and I wouldn’t do that to the kid. He’s got enough weight on his shoulders, he doesn’t need me barging in on his woman, but I can’t shake you, Y/N.”

“LEONard-” you tried again, but his hand came up, his pacing continued, and his eyes stayed everywhere but you.

“I know things are going to be weird now between us but I hope that in time, we can both move on from this. I’m sure it won’t be hard for you because you’re with Jim.”

You sighed, this wasn’t working. You stood and moved into his pacing path. He almost ran you down in his pacing because, of course, he wasn’t actually looking at you. He stopped in front of you and focused his eyes over your head.

“Leonard,” you say softly, taking his hands. “Please look at me.” He slowly moved his eyes down to meet yours. “Jim and I are not together.”

“Wait, what?” his brow furrowed with confusion.

“Jim and I are not together.” you repeated slowly, a grin forming on your face. Leonard’s confused pout was so adorable.

“But I thought-” he stuttered.

“You thought wrong and I’m sorry I haven’t been able to clear this up sooner.” you released his hands and moved them up around his shoulders.

“You’re sure you’re not with Jim?” he asked skeptically, as if you were somehow confused about your own relationship status.

“I’m sure,” you laughed. “You see, Leonard, there’s someone else.”

“Someone else?” Leonard nearly shouted. “Who? Who is he?! Is it Scotty?!”

“You’re an idiot, Leonard.” you replied almost as loudly, dropping your arms from his neck.

“Just answer the question, Y/N! Who is he?” he shouted.

“IT’S YOU, MORON!” you finally yelled. 


	18. Chapter 18

You took a step back from Leonard, turned away and began to rant.

“You have been looking at me for days but I swear you haven’t seen me even once!” you started your own pacing path, tears filling your eyes. “I know I’m not the best communicator when it comes to relationships, but I would have figured that kissing you yesterday would count for something. I mean, I could have pushed you away and stopped you. Hell, I could have punched you, but I didn’t!” you ranted, throwing your arms in the air. “Hell’s fire, Leonard, you are the most dense man ever to-”

Leonard grabbed your arm and whipped you around, slamming you against his chest. His hand landed behind your head at the same instant his urgent kiss landed on your lips. His arm wrapped around your waist, pulling you close to his body and holding tight. His lips moved against yours, his tongue begging entrance. With a whimper you opened to him, your arms wrapping around him and your tongue dancing with his. His kiss was all tongue and teeth and urgency, it sent an electric shock straight to your core. You threaded your fingers through his hair and gave it a little tug, pulling a moan from his throat, his chest rumbling against yours. He pulled back, allowing you both to breathe.

“Me?” he asked softly, breathing heavily and resting his forehead on yours.

“You.” you replied just as his lips crashed against yours again. His hand moved from your head to join the other one wrapped around you, dragging you up his body until you were on your toes leaning on him. Just as another moan rumbled through his chest, your communicator chirped.

“Kirk to Y/L/N.”

“I’m going to kill that kid.” Leonard grumbled as his head fell on your shoulder, making you giggle. You untangle yourself from Leonard’s arms, leaving a quick kiss on his lips before you flipped open the communicator.

“Y/L/N here, Captain.”

“Have you started working on that device yet, Y/N?”

“Um,” you looked over at Leonard who crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow at you. “I was just about to start.”

“Well, let me know the instant you have something. I want to get this wrapped up so we can get back on mission and you can get to work.”

“Yes, sir, will do.” you promised and snapped the communicator shut. “Looks like I have to go to work. I still have to clear my name, ya know.” Leonard’s eyes lazily looked you up and down while his lips worked up into a smirk.

“Well, get to it, darlin’,” he replied, his southern accent prominent, as he took steps toward you. “I’ll stop… um, distracting you.”

“Would you mind coming back later?” you asked, mimicking his smirk, closing the remaining distance and putting your arms around his neck. “I might need some distraction if I can’t get this thing working.”

“I’ll stop by after my shift,” he promised, his lips making tracks from your ear down your neck with little kisses and nibbles.

“Leonard,” you breathed out. “The distracting is for later, you’re making my mind mush.”

“Sorry darlin’,” he replied, pulling back to look into your eyes.

“No you’re not.” you said with narrowed eyes.

“No, I’m not.” he grinned. Giving you a quick kiss on your nose, he stepped toward the door. “Call me if you need anything or when you get that infernal machine working.”

“I will,” you promised as the door closed behind him. Shaking yourself, you pulled the machine and the tool kit to the table, got a coffee from the replicator and went to work.

Taking the thing apart to find the power supply was easy enough, but figuring out what new power supply would work without blowing the thing up took a little more time. If you had all of your things with you, you could have had it fixed by now. An idea popped into your head, it could be embarrassing but it was worth a try. You grabbed your communicator and contacted Christine (the only other female you knew on the ship), making sure she was alone before you asked for her help. Luckily, she wasn’t easily embarrassed and had exactly what you needed. She brought it to you in its velvet bag. Disassembling it and pulling the small power supply took zero time and once the recording device was back together, you started playing with the knobs. The thing whirred to life quickly and voices blasted through the room. Turning a knob, the volume lowered to a tolerable level. You stopped the playback and comm’d Jim, Leonard, and Scotty that it was working. Jim told everyone to meet back in the conference room.

You cleaned up your work area and put the remaining parts back in the bag for Christine, promising to fix it for her as soon as you could. You had just finished when the door chime rang and you opened it to find Jim ready to escort you to the conference room.

“Ready, Y/N?”

“Sure thing!” you grabbed the machine and made your way to the lift.

“Did everything work out with you and Bones?” he asked conversationally. “Scotty warned me that he was going to meddle.”

“He did meddle a little bit, but it’s fine,” you laughed. “Everything is fine now.” You both stepped into the lift and Jim turned to you, his eyes earnest.

“I don’t stand a chance, do I?” he asked, his voice soft and his smile softer, his blue eyes shining like stars.

“I’m sorry.” you replied with real sadness showing in your eyes.

“I want you to be happy, Y/N.” he said, resting a hand on your arm.

“I am and I will be.” you replied, placing one your hands over his and giving it a squeeze.

“I will personally kick his ass if he hurts you.” he promised sincerely.

“And I’ll let you,” you replied with a smirk. Jim returned your grin and the lift paused to let Scotty in.

“Ye got it workin’, Lass, I knew ye could!” he praised in a big voice. “What power supply did you end up using?”

“Oh just something I found laying around,” you skirted, a slight blush creeping up your cheeks. Thankfully, the lift opened again to admit Leonard, cutting off the rest of that line of questioning. Leonard stepped in, nodding to everyone, moving to stand behind you. Stealthily he placed his hand on the small of your back, moving his thumb in small circles. That distraction only lasted a few seconds until the lift stopped and everyone exited for the conference room. Mr. Spock stood ready when you arrived. Placing the device on the table, Mr. Spock nodded and you started the playback from the beginning. An angry sounding voice filled the room.

“What the hell is that?” Leonard asked over the din.

Spock raised an eyebrow and eyed the machine. “If I’m not mistaken, it is Klingon.”

“Klingon? As in Klingon Klingon?” Scotty demanded with a grimace.

“Indeed, Mr. Scott.” Spock replied, one eyebrow raised at the engineer. “We will need Lieutenant Uhura’s expertise on this.” Spock comm’d her and she appeared in a matter of seconds from her post on the bridge. Spock gestured to a seat and she sat with a smile to him and a nod to the rest of the table. You started the recording from the beginning and Uhura began to listen and translate.

“There are two men speaking, plotting a kidnapping. They are talking about places and ship names where this person, a human, might be found.” her head was bowed as she listened more intently. After a few minutes of the back of and forth of Klingon voices, her head flew up and her eyes landed on you. “It’s you. They wanted you.”


	19. Chapter 19

“Why? Why do the Klingons want Y/N?” Jim demanded as Leonard’s hand rested on yours under the table, grounding you.

“Not just her, let me finish listening,” Uhura raised her hand for silence as she listened. After a couple more minutes of the Klingons talking (or arguing, it’s hard to tell with Klingons), she nodded and you silenced the device. “They had a plan to hire the pirates to kidnap various members of Starfleet who have certain knowledge or secrets that would help them destroy The Federation. They wanted Y/N for her technical knowledge of our ships. They had also targeted other members of Starfleet. They named two captains, three science officers, and a few other people that I haven’t heard of. They mentioned a source, someone who fed them files. They specifically chose people who have no families and were soon to be in between postings, saying those were least likely to be missed and Starfleet wouldn’t start a war just to get them back. I’ll make a list of them all.” She pulled the device closer to her and turned the volume down so that only she could hear it and everyone else could talk.

“Did we just interrupt a Klingon plan to start a war?” Scotty ask incredulously.

“I’m not sure if we interrupted it or if they just hired the wrong pirates to try and kidnap Y/N.” Leonard put in.

“I concur, Doctor.” Spock agreed.

“It’s unnerving when he agrees with me.” Leonard mumbled in your direction.

“Explain Spock.” Kirk demanded.

“It stands to reason that the Klingons who planned the kidnapping of Lieutenant Y/L/N did not anticipate that the pirates would-”

“Wait,” Uhura spoke over Spock. “Listen to this.” She turned the volume on the device back up. The Klingons had stopped speaking and after some static white noise, a deep voice began speaking.

“My name is Jar’ell Talmok and I cannot do this any more. The Klingons hired me and my crew to kidnap various members of Starfleet. It did not matter to me at the time why they wanted them, the price was right. First on the list was someone named Y/N Y/L/N. She booked passage on a transport ship and I followed her.” A dry cackle sounded followed by a hacking cough. “Turns out it was a smuggler’s ship, she had no idea. Stupid human. I’ve watched her on this ship for the past week until we can rendezvous with my ship and I’ve decided that…. It does not matter what the Klingons want with her and it does not matter what they pay, I cannot turn her over to them. She may be naive but her heart is pure and she has done nothing to merit Klingon treatment. My crew has labeled me a traitor and will most surely kill me when they arrive. I must find a way to save this woman, if it’s the last thing I do. The recordings on this device were taken in secret, just in case. I hope, somehow, the Klingons are defeated.”

White static noise filled the room, all eyes stared at the small black box. Spock pulled his gaze from the box and began tapping on his PADD. Leonard’s hand under the table squeezed yours as he gazed at your face, watching for your reaction. You were in too much shock to react much more than letting your mouth hang open, staring into nothing. Spock finally held up his PADD displaying the profile of Captain Jar’ell Talmok with a picture of an angry looking man, with a scar running down his face.

“Is this the man who deposited you in the escape pod, Lieutenant?” he asked. You silently nodded, a tear slipping down your face.

“Are we about done here, Spock?” Leonard asked, his hand firmly grasping yours.

“Yes, Doctor. I think this has sufficiently proved Lieutenant Y/L/N’s innocence. I must prepare my report to Starfleet.” He stood and everyone else follow suit. Leonard’s hand on your back gently pushed you toward the door. Jim’s eyes followed you out, his concern written all over his face. A glance and nod from Leonard let Jim know that you were in good hands. Hands that Jim trusted, even with you.

Leonard walked you to the lift and once the doors were closed, pulled you into his arms and you rested your head on his chest. His strong hands ran down your arms and around to you back where they stroked comfortingly up and down. The lift stopped and he pulled you out and down the hallway, you weren’t even sure where you were going. Your mind was filled with the face of a stranger who, instead of kidnapping you and ruining your life, had saved it at the cost of his own. How could a debt like that be repaid?


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for taking this journey with me! I have loved writing this series and I’m sorry to see it end! Thanks for sticking with me through all the twists and turns!

Medbay. Again. Leonard brought you to his office and sat you down on the small couch. He disappeared for a moment and returned pressing a warm cup of something into your hands and the tricorder began talking to him as he scanned you. So this is what shock felt like… nothing. You eyes slowly lifted to look at him but you didn’t really see him. You felt detached, almost as if you were floating outside your own body. Leonard was speaking to you, but it was just muffled noise, not penetrating to your consciousness. He turned his head and said something to your right. A blanket wrapped around your shoulders and the cup was removed from your stiff hands. Leonard tucked the blanket around you and gently made you lay down on the couch. A hiss and sting at your neck. Darkness….

You woke slowly, the lights above you dimmed as you blinked against them. Draping an arm over your face, you groan as you memory of the events of the past day flood your mind. They wanted to kidnap you and your kidnapper gave his life to save yours. Someone died for you and there was no way to pay them back. Five strong, sure fingers interlaced with yours.

“How ya doin’, darlin’?” Leonard asked softly. You opened your eyes fully and found him sitting in a chair next to you on his couch.

“How long have I been asleep?” you mumbled, trying to sit up.

“About an hour.” Leonard freed you from your blanket and helped you sit. “I gave you a very mild sedative, just enough to take the edge off. It shouldn’t have even put you to sleep, but you were going into shock.”

“It’s okay, you don’t have to explain, Leonard.” you waved off any further explanation, resting your elbows on your knees and putting your head in your hands. “What do I do now?”

“What do you mean?” Leonard’s hands rested on top of yours, his head near yours.

“I mean, someone gave their life for me and I can never repay them. The Klingons ear marked me for kidnapping because no one would miss me and they were right.” Tears began to flow down your face. “They were right, Leonard. No one would have missed me.”

“Y/N,” Leonard’s hands moved yours and brought your face up so that he could look into your eyes. “Maybe at one time, what they said was true. But not anymore. You have family here. You have people who care about you. As for repaying him…”

“I think I can answer that one,” Jim said from the door. At Leonard’s nod, Jim came in and sat down next to you, wrapping an arm around your shoulders. “I know a little something about someone dying for you.”

You looked up into Jim’s eyes and saw his unshed tears filling them, making the blue sparkle against the dim the lights. Holding Leonard’s hands tightly, you leaned on Jim’s shoulder as he took a deep breath and spoke, his hand rubbing up and down your arm.

“I’m sure you know that my father died the day I was born. He saved as many on that ship as he could without a thought to his own life. I’ve been living my whole life trying to live up to his example. Trying to earn the life that he gave me. And through much trial and error, and more black eyes than I would like to admit, I have learned that the best way to repay a life for a life is to live. Live the best life you can, invest in others, love and be loved.”

Jim fell silent, lost in his own memories. Your eyes fell on your hands, still clasped tightly in Leonard’s. Looking up into his hazel eyes shining into yours, you saw the truth of Jim’s words. Love and be loved.

  
**_1.5 years later…_ **

 

“TRY THE OTHER SIDE!” You yelled up to Scotty, who was standing one floor above on the walkway around the warp core.You had loaned your toolkit to your assistant who had been working with Scotty trying to repair a conduit up there but had misplaced your toolkit. War with the Klingons had been averted and no Starfleet personnel had been kidnapped.

“NO, IT’S NOT HERE.” Scotty replied loudly, his voice echoing off of the walls.

“IT HAS TO BE SOMEWHERE UP THERE!” you yelled up.

“WELL I DON’T SEE IT, LASSIE!” he replied.

“ALL RIGHT, I’LL COME UP THERE AND HELP YOU FIND IT.” you replied, gathering your strength to climb up the ladder.

“You most certainly will not!” a stern voice came from behind you before you could even get one hand on the ladder. “Scotty, are you done with my wife for today?” Leonard yelled up the ladder.

“Aye, Doctor, take her away please.” Scotty replied, a harried sound to his voice. Leonard grinned and, without letting you get a word in, dragged you out of Engineering and into the lift. He rested his back against the wall and pulled you into his arms, your back to his chest. His strong arms wrapped around you, rubbing his hands over your swollen belly.

“How are my girls?” he asked softly in your ear.

“We’re fine, honey. Tired and I think my feet are three times their natural size, but we’re good.” you replied, letting your eyes slide closed leaning your head back on his shoulder.

“A couple more weeks and then I’m going to pull you from duty until after she’s born.” Leonard gently wrapped his arms under your belly and lifted slightly, taking its weight.

“I can’t wait.” you smiled and turned to kiss his cheek. “And I can’t to meet our girl.”

The lift paused and Jim entered, a huge grin appearing on his face when he saw you and Leonard.

“How are my favorite girls today?” he asked.

“Just fine, Jim.” you answered with a smile for your dear friend. Jim smiled and leaned down to address your belly.

“When you finally show up, I’m going to take you all over the ship and show you all the ways to make your grumpy daddy even more grumpy!” he promised in a whisper, giving your belly a gentle pat.

You laughed as Leonard rolled his eyes with a groan and pulled you out of the lift toward your quarters. Glancing back as the doors closed, Jim threw you a wink and a grin. Life aboard the Enterprise was a dream for you, family and friends of all shapes and sizes, and the baby was about to add another dimension to that life. Possibly more complications as well, Leonard had his doubts about raising a child on a starship, but you wouldn’t have it any other way. After all, what better place to raise a child than surrounded by family?


End file.
